Swinging polls grab the spotlight from missing issues

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In June Newspoll reported a 13-point swing in support for the Coalition in the space of one week.

A couple of weeks later, the ALP was back in front.

Now we have ACNielsen and Newspoll predicting different results for the election ("Greens surge as Coalition holds its lead", Herald, October 4).

What are these incessant polls supposed to prove? Their main reason for being seems to be to give the political reporters something to write about.

They cannot both be right, but after the election one of the pollsters will come out stating that its methodology is better.

The main effect of the polls is for politicians to come out with more and more bizarre bribes in an effort to sway those people who proudly portray themselves as "swinging voters".

Ian Semmel, Maleny (Qld), October 4.

Mark Metherell ("Society's sickest miss out in grab for votes", Herald, October 4) revisits the reality of the lower standards of health and wellbeing of Aborigines, an issue that should be at the forefront of this election. On every level Aborigines are the most oppressed stratum of our society, with no obvious representation from the major parties. While we think about who to vote for so we can individually be better off, the word "sorry" slips further from our collective consciousness.

Dr John D. Brannan, Harbord, October 4.

Jan McCauley (Letters, October 4), you imply that it is OK for the PM to enjoy two taxpayer-funded mansions because he would have to live somewhere when he is visiting his electorate. So does that mean that only Sydney-based politicians can be PM?

Don Firth, Paradise Point (Qld), October 4.

My wife and I are self-funded retirees. Not rich, but we have been responsible citizens and made provision for our old age by opting for pensions instead of lump sums.

From the time I left school at 16 until I retired, I was not unemployed for a day. Over the years I paid a great deal into the taxation system, thus contributing to the surplus that both sides of government are now splashing around. But what are either side offering us, who missed out on the recently announced tax cuts? Next to nothing.

Mr Howard has recently announced $200 for self-funded retirees to compensate for the benefits they miss. He said he was doing this as a matter of principle. For me recognition of the principle is a step in the right direction, but it is about $1000 short.

Having paid handsomely into the system all my life, I think appropriate recognition of our responsible preparation for old age would be to give us the full benefits that go with the pension card - less the pension.

The first party to announce this for self-funded retirees will have our votes and, I suspect, those of many more.

Ray Thornton, Batemans Bay, October 4.

Jan McCauley will have to get out of Bowral more and open her eyes, because the last time I looked Mark Latham had a house in Glen Alpine, Sydney.

Victoria Collins, Killcare Heights, October 4.

From Liberal ads, it would seem that anything that has happened under a previous Labor government will be repeated under a future Labor one. Using the same logic, we can expect John Howard to introduce conscription as the Liberal Party did in the Vietnam War. We are at war with Iraq, after all.

Con Carlyon, Toowoomba (Qld), October 4.

Mark Latham says he is ready. We all know he is willing, but is he able?

Wendy Taylor, St Ives, October 3.

Will Mr Latham promise to resign if bulk-billing doesn't reach 80 per cent, just like Mr Carr promised to do if hospital waiting lists didn't go down?

John Loveday, Warrawee, October 4.

Will the Liberals' new interest rate blitz include the views of the independent economic and finance commentators who have had a fair bit to say recently about that other election issue, truth in government?

Greg Wilson, Farrer (ACT), October 4.

Fearing cyclists who are neither here nor there

Darren Armstrong (Heckler, October 4) wants to know why Sydney motorists are afraid of cyclists. Well, cyclists can never decide whether they are road users or pedestrians.

When they are playing road users, they think they have exclusive rights to the middle lane, but if they suddenly come to a red light, the pavement looks far more attractive, so they will swerve out of the middle lane, mount the pavement, and pretend to be pedestrians.

At night they rarely display lights. Since they also like to wear black or dark colours to match their cycles, this makes them impossible to see. However, theirs are the loudest voices of protest when they are knocked down.

Many cyclists don't understand, or can't be bothered to learn, the road rules on the basis that the rules don't apply to cyclists. It's an unhappy fact of life, but the days when roads were for cyclists are long gone.

These days the roads are designed exclusively with cars in mind. In an ideal world, each road would have a cycle track running alongside it.

Valerie Brown, Woollahra, October 4.

Darren Armstrong may never have encountered road rage from a fellow cyclist, but perhaps that's because he has never been a pedestrian on a so-called shared pathway. On the Anzac Bridge footpath for example, which I regularly use to walk to work, aggression from cyclists in a hurry is not uncommon.

Now that I learn from Darren that they are actually engaged in a Tour de France-style race, maybe that's not so surprising.

Surely now, after so many letters and columns about this subject, we can declare a moratorium on holier-than-than cyclists lecturing us about how morally inadequate and stupid the rest of Sydney's commuters are? At least until they try walking.

Russell Edwards, Drummoyne, October 4.

Failure on asbestos

Regarding the letter by Graham Warden (Letters, October 4) on the dangers of asbestos, it is notable the first health laws regulating the exposure to asbestos were enacted in Britain in 1931. That Australia had such collective ignorance of its dangers by the 1980s indicates failures to protect public health on the part of Australian governments, their health departments, building unions and building and manufacturing industries over many decades.

J.R. Fredsall, Woolooware, October 4.

Depressing waste

It was fantastic to see NSW get some decent rain late last week. It has also been a little depressing, given that at least 45 billion litres fell in Sydney alone, and guess where most of that ended up?

That's right - off our roofs, down the gutter, across the road, into the storm water pipes and out to sea. And a few tonnes of rubbish went with it. The clever state we ain't.

John Paoloni, Katoomba, October 4.

Crawling in the city

Before getting buses to move on ("Change to ease QVB bus jams", Herald, October 4), isn't it time for the city council to bite the bullet regarding private motor vehicles in the city centre? Returning recently from the Sydney Theatre Company's new venue at Walsh Bay, and disinclined to wait longer than 30 minutes for the cab I had pre-booked, I walked, in some pain, to Circular Quay, noting I was, at times, overtaking private vehicles which jammed the streets.

At the Quay I took a bus to Central, noting the packed bus was seriously delayed in places by individuals in private cars used to driving as close as possible to their venue. The time is long past when such practices can be taken for granted.

Ian Muldoon, Coffs Harbour, October 4.

No help at all

On August 31 my sister Danielle Gibbons, an Australian citizen, went missing from a dive site in Fiji. My family travelled to Fiji to aid in the search for her, only to discover that we had to co-ordinate the search ourselves.

After exhaustive communication with the Department of Foreign Affairs, AusSAR (the Australian search and rescue organisation), our local representative in Eden-Monaro and the Australian embassy in Fiji, we realised our efforts in gaining any sort of assistance, advice or support from Australian authorities were in vain.

The lack of knowledge of procedure and the poor communication between these bodies was simply unbelievable.

It would seem that unless there is some political advantage to be gained in helping fellow Australians (i.e., hostages in Iraq or our sporting fraternity), then there is little in the way of incentives or resources available for Australians in need overseas.

The lack of useful information or support from those in authority in this tragic event makes me question what right they have to hold such positions of responsibility.

When we needed you, where were you?

Corinne Gibbons, Clovelly, October 4.

Aiding a secure world

This election campaign has seen many promises for the projected $25 billion in budget surpluses. Not one cent is pledged to increase overseas aid. Why?

Individually, Australians are generous and since September 11, 2001, have given 20 per cent a year more to agencies like ours. But individuals are unable to make up for the money lost through the Government's savage cuts to aid.

Thirty years ago, Australia spent 0.5 per cent of gross national income on aid. By 1996 we were giving 0.32 per cent. Now we give just 0.26 per cent. Consequently, $3.7 billion has been lost over the past eight years. This money would have provided hope and security for millions of people through improved access to health and education.

Developed nations all agreed to give 0.7 per cent of their gross national income in overseas aid. Five countries already do this, four others are committed to the target, including Britain. Restoring aid to the 1996 level would cost each Australian just 7 cents per day.

The next government must reflect the Aussie ethos of a "fair go". We must see greater commitment to international development. A fairer world would be a more secure world. Boosting our aid budget is essential.

Folkes completes Bullfrog's set

In his time in charge of the Canterbury Berries/Bulldogs, the late Peter Moore brought five coaches to the club - Ted Glossop, Warren Ryan, Phil Gould, Chris Anderson and Steve Folkes. Now we can finally say that all have won a premiership for the club. Well done Folkesy, and well done "Bullfrog" Moore.

John Maclean, Fitzroy North (Vic), October 3.

Another rugby league grand final and again we are treated to someone singing the national anthem as a pop song.

Eddie Fingret, Dover Heights, October 4.

Perhaps Messrs Latham and Howard should promise some dollars to improve the articulation of footy players.

Alastair Browne, Cromer Heights, October 4.

Do the football results carry a message for our politicians? In AFL, the Brisbane Lions were unable to win four in a row. In NRL the elite Roosters, for whose captain the match marked retirement, were unable to defeat the westy Bulldogs.

Bob Barwick, Sunnybank Hills (Qld), October 4.

Fun with funambulation

I can confirm Gill Whitton's observation about the possums (Letters, October 4). Down our way they practise their funambulatory skills on telephone wires, just for fun. Being so rotund, how do they stay upright?

Sue Lewis, Rosedale, October 4.

Dogged Latin

I hope Gloria arrives at her destination on Tuesday in a better state of health ("Sic gloria transit mundi", Letters, October 4).

H. Hirschhorn, Collaroy Plateau, October 4.

If the pants fit

...

By dint of much practice, use of Google and various other devious methods, my wife and I have achieved almost total success in solving DA's fiendish puzzles on Friday. However, we would submit that 3 down last Friday was unsolvable in its presented form. Retro pants were surely spelt "flares" not "flairs". Notwithstanding, we wrote in "lairs" anyway, on the basis of our family's golden rule of crossword puzzles: "It fits."

Alistair Bragg, Lane Cove, October 4.

Embracing risk

Hug a stranger (Letters, October 4) ... nice idea, but full of surprises. Brighten your day with the chance of either the police being called, getting a smack in the mouth, or a warm responsive hug in return.

Peter McDonell, Tascott, October 4.

Upward curve

Going by prices in my local supermarket, I expect banana growers to feature prominently in the next BRW rich list.

Michael Throssell, Narrabeen, October 4.

Only the elite would expect to be unaccountable

Chief Justice Murray Gleeson needs a reality check ("Critics are without a case on sentence severity: Gleeson", Herald, October 4). The Chief Justice says criticism of judges is unfair because judges are exposed to much violence and more human misery than most of the community. I agree they are exposed to more than any normal person should be. However, I also believe these judges have become desensitised to the violence and the misery criminals inflict on their victims and the community.

The Chief Justice would do well to remember that law belongs to the people who democratically choose those who pass the laws through the parliamentary system, and if those who enact the law are accountable to the people and public opinion, I cannot see why those who administer the law on our behalf should not be accountable for their actions.

The Chief Justice took issue with the term "elite". How else would you describe it when judges believe they should be immune from criticism and do not have to account for their performance.

Robert Gorman, Ningi (Qld), October 4.

As the community and legal profession debate the recent ruling by the High Court on sentencing severity, it might be germane to consider the controversial but interesting reverse proposal from England's Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, on offering a special, much-reduced sentence for those who readily plead guilty to murder.

He proposes that killers who admit to guilt "with absolute candour" long before they come to court, and also those who plead guilty knowing that they could be acquitted due to lack of evidence, be given effective sentences of 10 years, rather than the much-longer sentences meted out today to those convicted of the ultimate crime.

His idea has met with a storm of criticism from the law-and-order brigade in Britain. However, his proposal deserves better. He argues that most murderers continue to maintain their innocence until the bitter end, thus wasting society's time and money. If, however, they had the option of a much lighter sentence for pleading guilty early, then many would take that option, even leading to convictions in cases that otherwise might fail.

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